How to Say Ambulance in German - Correctly

In real life, on the news, or even in movies, it’s a word you can’t avoid. If you’re learning German, knowing how to say ambulance in German gives you access to emergency vocabulary, health-related discussions, and helpful phrases for serious situations.

The word is Krankenwagen, pronounced /ˈkʁaŋkn̩ˌvaːɡn̩/. The a in krank is short; the a in Wagen is long. German w sounds like English v, and the g in Wagen is hard, as in “go.”

Krankenwagen is masculine, so it’s der Krankenwagen. The plural is die Krankenwagen. To better understand articles like der, die, and das, check out my gender video lesson.

It’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German, because it shows up everywhere - especially in real-life conversations and urgent contexts.

Dingsies are cute but very dumb. Guide them through the correct German words towards safety! The more you play, the better your German gets!

Examples in all four cases:

Nominative:
Der Krankenwagen kommt in fünf Minuten.
The ambulance will arrive in five minutes.

Accusative:
Ruf sofort einen Krankenwagen!
Call an ambulance right away!

Dative:
Sie wurde mit dem Krankenwagen ins Krankenhaus gebracht.
She was taken to the hospital in the ambulance.

Genitive:
Die Sirene des Krankenwagens war sehr laut.
The ambulance’s siren was very loud.

Real-World Tips for Learners

Krankenwagen is a compound word: Krank (sick) + Wagen (vehicle or cart). So literally, it means “vehicle for the sick.” Krankenwagen is an everyday word for an ambulance. In Germany, a Rettungswagen (RTW) is equipped for emergency care; a Krankentransportwagen (KTW) transports patients who need medical supervision without necessarily needing emergency treatment. For a medical emergency in Germany, call 112.